<\/p>\n
Alexandria Anderson, a candidate for Austin City Council District 1, pairs strong community ties with a strategic approach to housing.<\/p>\n
Ricardo B. Brazziell\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
The meetings may be at Austin City Hall, but the work of being an effective council member begins in the district \u2014 talking with neighborhood groups, discussing potential housing developments, identifying areas where infrastructure is needed.<\/p>\n
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The six contenders for Northeast Austin\u2019s District 1 seat all have admirable records of service in the community. We recommend Alexandria Anderson, who brings extensive experience as a neighborhood advocate focused on housing and quality-of-life issues.<\/p>\n
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Anderson owns a health and wellness business and has held leadership roles with the Martin Luther King Neighborhood Association, the East\u00a0MLK Contact Team, Austin’s Commission for Women and the city\u2019s African American Resource Advisory Commission. The former University of Texas track star impressed us not only with the breadth of her advocacy but with her strategic approach to affordable housing.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s been researching where the city owns vacant land that could be used for affordable housing. She praised the recently opened\u00a0Seabrook Square<\/a> apartment complex, built with help from the city\u2019s 2018 affordable housing bond and serving households earning between 30% and 60% of the median family income. The second phase of the complex includes units with wraparound services for people exiting homelessness.<\/p>\n Anderson also called for greater scrutiny of what the city gets out of projects using density bonuses, which allow developers to build more units in exchange for making some of them affordable.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not seeing what the outcomes are,\u201d she told our Editorial Board. \u201cWe\u2019re essentially putting something on the table and hoping that it\u2019s going to work out.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n READ MORE: Statesman Editorial Board Texas General Election Recommendations<\/a><\/p>\n Asked how Austin should preserve Black and Latino cultural institutions amid the city\u2019s growth, Anderson said efforts must go beyond symbolic gestures like putting up murals.<\/p>\n \u201cThe right to return and the right to remain is something that\u2019s really big and needs to be put into our policies when it comes to affordable housing or any development that\u2019s going to be going forward,\u201d she said, referring to policies that would help longtime residents afford to stay in\u00a0gentrifying areas.<\/p>\n The strong field of candidates seeking to replace Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison made this one of our toughest endorsement calls of the year.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Amber\u00a0Goodwin, a former Travis County prosecutor and founder of the gun violence prevention nonprofit Community Justice, is a forceful advocate for public safety and economic opportunity. One of her priorities would be working with the city and private organizations to create an economic development fund for small businesses in the district.<\/p>\n \u201cI do think District 1 in particular feels like they\u2019ve been left behind,\u201d Goodwin told our Editorial Board. \u201cWe feel like we also need wins. We need something to bring to City Hall, so we\u2019re actually leading the discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n Steven Brown, a healthcare professional and fourth-generation\u00a0Austinite, is focused on preventing further gentrification by keeping tax bills in check and ensuring rezonings are done \u201cthrough a social justice and racial justice lens\u201d that ensures today\u2019s residents are part of the district\u2019s future.<\/p>\n ALSO READ: How we reach our endorsements \u2014 and why your vote is yours<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Misael Ramos, a Democratic Socialist, community organizer and former chair of the\u00a0Blackland Community Development Corporation, brings impassioned advocacy on social justice issues and expertise in housing and zoning policies.<\/p>\n Rounding out the field are\u00a0Portia Riggins, a third-generation Austinite with a background in accounting, and Michael Nahas, an economist focused on lowering housing costs.<\/p>\n Given Harper-Madison\u2019s mixed attendance record<\/a> over the past few years<\/a>, some District 1 residents have felt underrepresented at City Hall. We believe this election will change that.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n District 1 voters have a slate of candidates eager to get to work. They deserve a representative who stays\u00a0rooted in the community and ensures the work done at City Hall delivers for residents. Anderson\u2019s record of neighborhood advocacy and practical approach to affordability make her the strongest choice in the Nov. 3 election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alexandria Anderson, a candidate for Austin City Council District 1, pairs strong community ties with a strategic approach…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":470410,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-470409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n